A day after its now-deleted social media post linking Bihar and bidis created a political storm, drawing criticism from opponents and allies, the Congress party’s Kerala unit on Saturday said its social media cell would be reconstituted.
The post on the Congress Kerala unit’s X handle had said, “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore.” Accompanying the message was a graphic comparing the existing and proposed GST rates, showing taxes on bidis reduced from 28% to 18%, while taxes on cigarettes increased from 28% to 40%. While it was aimed at criticising the Centre’s GST policy on tobacco products, its language, linking Bihar with bidis, has been termed offensive and unacceptable by several political leaders, including those from Congress and its allies. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, a key Congress ally and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, called for an apology.
On Saturday, the Congress’s Kerala state president Sunny Joseph also condemned the post and suggested that action was being taken.
“The post has been withdrawn. It was wrong to make such a post. The admin of the handle has expressed regret, and Congress will never endorse it. We have decided to reconstitute the social media cell of the party in Kerala. Its current in-charge, V T Balram, has expressed his intention to step down. He was not privy to the controversial post. There was a lapse on the part of those who handled social media,” Joseph said.
The issue has snowballed ahead of the Assembly elections set to take place in Bihar this year.
Condemning the post, the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav said Friday, “I haven’t seen the post, but if such a statement was made, it is extremely unfortunate and an apology must be issued. No one should make such remarks.” Speaking to the media later, he said whatever the intention behind the post may be, it was wrong. “We do not support it,” he said.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain also criticised the post, saying, “No state or residents of any state should be compared to such things. I have not seen the tweet or the context in which it was posted, but if it was done, we will ask them to retract it. We will not tolerate this for the people of any state.”
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Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan called the comparison “deeply insulting to Bihar and crores of Biharis”. The BJP also heavily criticised the Congress over the post.
